Chapter 32 Chapter 28 A Lie Among Lies

Regis rubbed his eyes, brushing away the afterimage that was too bright for him to see, and found himself facing the wizard again.Kessell lolled on the throne, leaning against one armrest and resting his legs on the other.They are in a square room made of crystal, so the surroundings are bright and bright, but the touch is as hard as a summoning head.Regis instantly knew that he had already entered the tower.The room was filled with a dozen ornate and oddly shaped mirrors.One in particular, the largest and most decorated, caught the halfling's eye, for what seemed to be a blaze of fire deep within it.At first Regis looked at the opposite side of the mirror, wanting to find the source of the image, and then he realized that the fire light was not a reflected projection, but an actual situation in the mirror's own dimension.

"Welcome to my hut," the wizard smiled. "You should feel honored to have the opportunity to see such splendor!" But Regis only stared at Kessell, who scrutinized the wizard up close, because the wizard's tone didn't sound right. With the ambiguity of other jewel-tranced people. "You'll forgive my surprise when we first met," Kessell continued. "I didn't expect those unyielding humans in Ten-Towns to send a halfling to me," he laughed again, and Regis knew that something was blocking the charm he had cast on the wizard while he was outside. .

Halflings can guess what happened.He could feel a pulsating force in the room; it was clearly supporting Kessell.Judging from the wizard's mental state outside, he can't resist the magic of gems, but inside the tower his power is greater than the influence of gems. "You said you had information to tell me," Kessell asked suddenly. "Tell me now, don't miss anything! Otherwise, I'll make you die very unhappy!" Regis couldn't speak for a while, and he tried to make up a story to coax the other party.His previous lies were of little use to the magic-free wizard.In fact, this flawed lie would have served as a warning to Cassius' strategy.

Kessell sat upright on the throne, then leaned towards the halfling in front of him, staring fiercely at his opponent. "Tell me!" he ordered. Regis felt a steely will invade all his thoughts, driving him to obey Kessell's every command.Yet he sensed that the power over him was not Kessell's.It was more likely to come from some other source, perhaps something not presently seen by chance held in the wizard's robes. However, people with halfling blood are usually more resistant to this type of magic by nature, and the power of the jeweled magic pendant also helped Regis resist the willpower of this invasion, and gradually pushed it out.Regis suddenly had an idea.He had seen so many people succumbed to his charm that he was able to imitate their gestures.He dropped his head a little, as if suddenly relaxed completely, and stared blankly at the corner of the room behind Kessell.His eyes felt very dry, but he resisted the temptation to blink.

"What information do you want to know?" he replied mechanically. Kessell leaned back confidently again. "Call me Master Kessell," he ordered. "What information do you want to know, Master Kessell?" "Very well," the wizard smiled smugly to himself. "Confess to me honestly, halfling, in fact, you came to deceive me with false information." why not?thought Regis.A lie seasoned with truth becomes even more powerful. "Yes," he replied. "Makes you think your most loyal ally is plotting against you." "What's the purpose?" Kessell urged, enjoying himself. "The people of Bryn Shander are well aware that I can crush them easily without any allies. It is a plan that is of little use to me." "Cassius has no will to defeat you, Master Kessell." Regis Say.

"Then why did you come here? Why didn't Casios simply surrender as I said?" "I've come to raise some questions in your mind," Regis replied, blindly heightening Kessell's curiosity and attention to himself.He said these words on the surface, but he was trying to piece together a new statement in his heart. "Give Cassios time to put his new plan into action." Kessell leaned forward. "What's the plan?" Regis paused, thinking of an answer. "You can't resist me!" Kessell growled. "My willpower is too great! If you don't answer, I will pull the truth out of your heart!"

"They're going to flee," Regis said without thinking, and when he had finished he saw several new possibilities open up. Kessell reclined in his chair again. "Impossible," he answered casually. "My army is too strong everywhere for humans to get through." "Maybe it's as strong as you think, Master Kessell." Regis said deliberately.Now his path is fully opened before him.There is another lie within the lie.He likes the formula. "Explain to me," Kessell demanded, a cloud of worry hanging over his raised face. "Cassios has allies in your army."

The wizard jumped from his chair, shaking with rage.Regis was amazed that his simple imitation had such an effect.For a moment he wondered if some of his own victims had turned around and lied to him like this.But he immediately decided to think about this nagging question later. "Some orcs have been living among the humans of Ten-Towns for months," Regis went on. "There is a tribe that actually trades with the fishermen. They also obey your call and join your army, but they are still loyal to Cassius, if their kind ever had any loyalty. Even if you Bryn Shander is surrounded by the army of the army, and there is still communication between the orc chieftain and the orc emissary who slipped out of Bryn Shander."

Kessell brushed his hair back with his fingers, then ran his hands over his face uneasily.How could his seemingly impeccable army have a secret weakness? No, no monster would dare stand against Akar Kessell! But if any of them really conspired against him, if all of them conspired against him, would he know about it?Where did Errtu go again?Is this demon behind the whole plot? "Which tribe?" he asked Regis softly, his tone showing that news of the halflings had suppressed his anger. Regis had completely fooled the wizard. "It was the army you sent to plunder Bremen, tongue-cut half-orcs," he said, looking into the wizard's wide eyes with complete satisfaction. "My job is just to keep you from attacking Bryn Shander before nightfall, because those orcs will return before dawn, pretending to regroup in the designated place in the field, but in fact will be in your west Flank a path. Cassius will lead the men fleeing from the western slopes into the tundra. They just want to mess you up long enough until they get out. Then you're forced to chase them all the way Until Luskan!"

There are many flaws in this statement, but it is a gamble worth taking for someone in despair.Kessell pounded his fist on the armrest of the throne. "These fools!" he growled. Regis breathed easier.Kessell believed it. "Errtu," he screamed suddenly, unaware that the demon had been beaten back into his own world. No one answered. "Fuck you, demon!" Kessell cursed. "You're not there for me every time I need you most!" He turned to Regis. "You wait here, I'll have a question for you later," the flames of his anger seemed about to explode. "But I've got to talk to some of my generals first. I'm going to give a lesson to those tongue-cut orcs who defy me!"

In fact, Cassios observed that the Tongue Orcs were Kessell's strongest and most ardent supporters. A lie among lies.    On the waters of Lake Doulden later that day, the Combined Fleet of Four Towns watched suspiciously as the second squadron of monsters left the main force and headed in the direction of Bremen. "It's strange," Kemp told the spokesman for Muirtown of Lonewood and Burnt Bremen.They stood beside Kemp on the deck of the Targos flagship.All Bremen's men are already on the lake.After the first team of half-orcs was shot a few arrows at the beginning, they encountered no more resistance.Bryn Shander still stands tall.Then why does the wizard have to further stretch his military deployment line? "Acar Kessell confuses me," Moulton said. "Either his strategic genius is far superior to mine, or he made an obvious strategic mistake!" "Assuming the latter," said Kemp hopefully, "if the former is true, then all our efforts are useless!" So they continued to rearrange the soldiers so that they could attack at any time, moved the women and children to the remaining boats, and drove them to the pier of Lonely Town, which had not yet been attacked. This was the same strategy as the other two exiles on the lake. . On the walls of Bryn Shander, Cassius and Glenn Sather saw Kessell's army parting, and they had a better idea of ​​what was going on. "Well done, halfling," Casios said softly to Night Breeze. Glenn Suther smiled and put his reassuring hand on the shoulder of Cassius, who was also the spokesperson. "I'm going to tell our field force commander," he said. "If the time comes when we must attack, we should be well prepared!" Cassius shook Glenn Suther's hand tightly, nodding in agreement.After the spokesperson of the East Exile accelerated to leave, Cassios leaned against the raised part of the city wall, and stared decisively at the darkened wall of the Magic Crystal Tower.The sound of his announcement came through clenched teeth. "The hour is coming!"    Drizzt Do'Urden also saw the sudden change in the monster army from the commanding heights of the Cairne Cone.When the light of a multitude of torches in the distance suddenly moves west!He has just completed the final preparations for a bold attack on the Magic Crystal Tower.He sat quietly with Guenhwyfer, observing the situation for a while, trying to find clues to this sudden action. He couldn't see anything, but the night was getting dark and he had to move fast.He wasn't sure if it would help, since it reduced the number of barracks he had to go through, but it might also put the rest of the monsters on their toes.But he knew that Bryn Shander's people couldn't afford any delay.He started to walk down the mountain road, and the big leopard followed him quietly. He got off the level ground in time, and trotted down the Bremen Path.If he had stopped to take a good look around or put his sensitive ear to the ground, he would have heard the rumble of another approaching army on the tundra far to the north. But the dark elf's focus was on the south, his vision limited to the waiting darkness of the Crystal Tower as he hurried forward.He walked lightly, carrying only what he considered absolutely necessary for the mission.He carried five weapons: two cutlasses in leather sheaths on his hips, a dagger tucked in a belt mid-back, and two pocket knives hidden in boots.Around his neck was his talisman and sachet of belongings, and at his belt was a sack of flour left over from raiding the giant's lair, an emotional choice that reminded him of doing it with Wulfgar. daring adventure.His other daily necessities, backpack, rope, water bladder, and other basic equipment needed to survive the harsh tundra remain in his small quarters. As he passed the eastern outskirts of Tamaran, he heard the goblins cries of joy. "Strike now, sailors of Pond Dulden," whispered the Dark Elf.But when he thought about it, he was glad those boats were still on the lake.Even if they could sneak into the city and attack those monsters quickly, they couldn't afford such a loss.Tamaran must wait; there are more important battles to be fought there. Drizzt and Guenhwyvar entered the outermost perimeter of Kessell's camp.The dark elves were pleased to see signs that the commotion in the camp had calmed down.A lone goblin guard was wearily perched on its gun, looking absently at the dark, empty horizon to the north.Even if it was alert, it would not be able to notice that these two figures, darker than night, were quietly approaching. "Return!" An order came from somewhere in the distance. "No anomalies!" the guard replied. Drizzt heard the censorship password ringing at various distances.He waved Guanhaifa back, then crawled within range of throwing things to hit the guards. The weary guard didn't even hear the sound of the daggers whistling through the air. Drizzt immediately came to his side, and quietly supported him to prevent him from falling heavily.The dark elf yanked his dagger from the goblin's throat, and set it gently on the ground.The two unnoticed shadows of death, he and Guenhuffa, continued on. They crossed the only line of defense to the north, walking easily among the sleeping tents.Drizzt was able to kill dozens of orcs and goblins, and even a subgiant (though its thunderous snoring would have been noticeable if it stopped suddenly), but he didn't slow down.Every second that passed was draining Guenhwyfa more of his energy, and the signs of the impending dawn of Enemy Number Two were becoming more and more apparent in the east. When the dark elf was about to reach his destination, he had great hope again, but when he actually reached the magic crystal tower, he felt very panicked.A horde of ogre guards ready for battle surrounded the tower, blocking his way. He squatted down next to the leopard, unable to decide what to do next.To escape the huge camp before dawn, they had to go back the same way they had come.Drizzt doubted that Guenhwyvar would make it all the way in such emaciated condition.Moving on would mean fighting an impossible battle with the ogre.This seems to be an unsolvable dilemma. Then something happened northeast of the camp that opened a way for the two stealthy companions.Suddenly a warning cry sounded, causing the ogres to take several strides away from their posts.Drizzt thought at first that the orc guards he had killed had been found, but the cries were coming from farther to the east. Soon there was the clash of steel on steel in the pre-dawn air.A battle is on.Drizzt guessed that rival tribes were fighting, but he had no way of seeing which ones from so far away. Yet his curiosity didn't completely overwhelm him.The undisciplined ogres moved farther from their designated spots.Guenhwyvar saw the pylon.Neither of them hesitated for even a second. The ogres didn't even notice that two dark figures had darted into the tower behind them.    As Drizzt walked through the doorway of the Crystal Tower, he felt a strange sensation, a humming vibration, as if he had entered the entrails of a living creature.He walked on, however, through the passage leading to the first floor of the tower, marveling at the strange crystalline substance that made up the walls and floors. He found himself in a square hall, the lowest room in a building of four rooms.This was where Kessell used to meet his field generals, the main audience room for all but the highest ranking generals. Drizzt examined the dark shapes in the room and the shadows they cast.Although he didn't see anything moving, he knew he wasn't alone.He knew Guenhwyvar felt the same uneasiness, for the black hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, and the leopard let out a low growl. Kessell saw the room as a buffer between himself and the chaotic world outside.It was a room he rarely visited, the room of Akar Kessell's trolls.